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DandelionPowdermanQuote
keefriffhard4lifeQuote
GravityBoyBill used a pick extensively with the Stones.. he's on record saying it somewhere.Quote
keefriffhard4life
Really? seems to me a lot of pictures and videos i see of bill he is using fingers.Because they didn't need no stinkin' rules.Quote
also not sure why you said "My two favourite bass players ever don't follow those rules - thank goodness.". not ever sure what that means. thank goodness why?
James Jamerson... genius.
Google "the hook".
ok. watch out al capone, bill wyman uses a pick.
Or his thumb...
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keefriffhard4life
funny enough that mccartney bass looks like a smaller version of a stand up bass.
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sonomastone
great post
he's back to the hofner or a model like it now i believe?
my understanding was it was the left handed model that drove the selection of the guitar originally.
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GravityBoy
Bill picking in the studio.
Fender Mustang.
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71TeleQuote
Thrylan
Wow, wish I could type fast enough to be in that! Hmmm, a lot of good arguments in every direction.
In a related note, I was never overly impressed with Ringo. Then, the other day I Feel Fine came on the radio, and damn! Ringo is playing his ass off. Really caught my ear.
Ringo was awesome. Again, technique didn't matter. he was a left-handed drummer who played a right-handed kit. This led to some of his idosyncratic fills. He was also laid back enough to hang back for hours and hours while the songwriters worked out their ideas. Would some pyrotechnic double-bass drummer been better for The Beatles? Absolutely not! The best technique does not always lead to the most soulful music. In fact, it usually doesn't.
That is not correct. Macca does not strum the bass. Listen to the I Want You clip, better yet, get yourself a copy of Rock Show and watch the man. As Tele so well stated, the Ox was great, but Macca beats with style, technique, melody and versatility. But also, this all comes down to personal taste, as it often does, so you may be a bit biased towards Entwistle. I love them both, but also can hear where Macca has the edge on The Ox.Quote
keefriffhard4lifeQuote
71Tele
Paul is the best bassist, if you consider what a bassist properly does. I love The Who, but unfortunately the Ox got a bad case of Lead Guitar Syndrome in his later years. Not sure why anyone would think playing lead on a bass with a super distorted sound would make anyone a better bassist, but I'm sure he was better at whatever it is he did.
His work through Who By Numbers was brilliant. I think Pete mentioned that he got so loud onstage that he couldn't compete with him. When I go to see The Who now I feel guilty because I much prefer Pino Paladino's playing.
for starters paul mccartney strums the bass with a pick most of the time while the ox can show you every known style of playing a bass there is. ever see mccartney finger tap or pluck with all 5 fingers or slap bass?
Well not too sure about that. I have played in several bands and every bass player I played with used a pick. And not to STRUM, but to hit individual strings. But again, the use of a pick or not does not signal which player is better. As Tele AGAIN so well stated it is the style and technique, not the speed and special effects.Quote
keefriffhard4lifeQuote
GravityBoyQuote
keefriffhard4life
i think my point was that mccartney pretty much only strums the bass with a pick because he is a guitar player who switched to bass. most bass players tell you using a pick on a bass for 90% of the time is sacrilege (sp?).
Pick playing is a perfectly valid technique.
Next you'll be be saying that you need to play bass with more than one finger.
(Bass player lovers will know where I'm going with that one).
its valid but but most bass players do not use a pick. its funny that literally the only bass players i can think of right now who seem to always use a pick other than mccartney are gene simmons and the bassist from poison. top of the class right there
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stonehearted
In fact, most bass players back then played bass like guitar players, because that's how bass was looked upon in the 50s and early 60s. The job of bass always went to the band's weakest guitar player.
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keefriffhard4lifeQuote
GravityBoyQuote
keefriffhard4life
i think my point was that mccartney pretty much only strums the bass with a pick because he is a guitar player who switched to bass. most bass players tell you using a pick on a bass for 90% of the time is sacrilege (sp?).
Pick playing is a perfectly valid technique.
Next you'll be be saying that you need to play bass with more than one finger.
(Bass player lovers will know where I'm going with that one).
its valid but but most bass players do not use a pick. its funny that literally the only bass players i can think of right now who seem to always use a pick other than mccartney are gene simmons and the bassist from poison. top of the class right there
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mr_dja
They're both awesome players and I've stolen/learned much from both of them over the years. If I could get the technique & ability of Entwistle combined with the taste & sensibility of McCartney, I'd hire the person in an instant. Heck, as a bass player myself, that combination is much of what I strive for today. Trying to pick between either of the two for anything other than a Who or Beatle cover band, I'd probably lean to McCartney simply for his ability to be a "band member" first as opposed to a "bass player" first.
Lead bass players are great in the right situation. However, as DP said above, "Too many bass players lose the groove by playing too much or in the wrong places, imo." In my opinion, the groove is everything and is not only dependent on WHAT you play, but WHAT you don't play as well. So many players are so concerned about the notes, that they forget about the rests and the silence between the notes. Find a bass player that plays the silence as well as they play the notes and you'll be laying on a huge bed of groove. Bill Wyman was and is a great example of this. For that matter, I'd be willing to bet that Keith & probably Ronnie understood that concept as well. Silence, space, whatever you want to call it, can do more to change the feel, swing, groove of a song, than the actual notes do much of the time.
Side note to Tele: I'm in the same awkward position as you when I find myself preferring Pino to the Ox.
Peace,
Mr DJA
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batcave
I remember reading an interview with Entwistle where he said he could never figure out how McCartney could play all those melodic bass lines while singing at the same time.
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stonehearted
In the recent Ginger Baker bio-doc, Beware of Mr Baker, Baker had this to say about technique: "Bonham had technique, but he couldn't swing a sack of shit! Or Moonie for that matter."
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stonehearted
In the recent Ginger Baker bio-doc, Beware of Mr Baker, Baker had this to say about technique: "Bonham had technique, but he couldn't swing a sack of shit! Or Moonie for that matter."
Bit of a shame that...I thought Jack Bruce was the big-headed prick in Cream, but Ginger gives him a run for his money. No wonder EC had to get out of that ego battle. I suspect what he's getting at is that rock drummers are not real drummers like jazz players. Note: Cream are one of the greatest bands ever IMO.
As for the Ox vs. Macca...certainly John was a better player...but Macca wrote some of the best bass lines in pop music, especially in the Beatles era. I don't think it really matters that much anyway. I sure would have liked to see Pastorius in his prime, but would probably been bored stiff after 15 minutes of bass solo.
Lee
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andrea66
I never considered auntie paula a great bass player. Great songwriter yes, but bass player....